text:
I'm not going to tackle whether or not this innovative device will be a market success for Nintendo. There will be so much riding on the 1st party titles, the 3rd party support and the actual technical implementation of the controller that any comments at this point are at best opinions and at worst propaganda.
What we can however discuss in some detail are the two central philosophies behind the Revolution controller and their market implications.
- The increasingly hardcore nature of the game industry is causing a contraction of the industry.
- New intuitive controller options will result in innovative game play that will bring new gamers into the fold.
Genre maturity leads to market consolidation
In past articles I've discussed two key concepts. The first is genre addiction and the second is the genre life cycle. These both have major market implications for both individual game developers, but also for the market as a whole.
To briefly recap, genre addiction is the process by which:
- Players become addicted to a specific set of game mechanics.
- This group of players has a strong homogenous preference for this genre of games, creating a well defined, easily serviceable market segment.
- Game developers who release games within a genre with a standardized set of play mechanics are most likely to capture the largest percentage of the pre-existing market.
- Over time, the game mechanics defining the genre becomes rigidly defined, the tastes of the genre addicts become highly sophisticated and innovation within the genre is generally punished by the market place.
- Introduction: A new and addictive set of game mechanics are created.
- Growth: The game mechanics are experimented with and genre addiction begins to spread.
- Maturity: The game mechanics are standardized and genre addiction forms a strong market force. Product differentiation occurs primarily through higher layer design elements like plot, license, etc.
- Decline: The market consolidates around the winners of the king-of-the-genre battles that occurred during the Maturity phase. New games genres begin stealing away the customer base. With less financial reward, less games are released.
- Niche: A population of hardcore genre addicts provides both the development resources and audience for the continued development of games in the genre. Quality decreases.
How maturity reduces the number of total game players
Goodbye people on the fringes: The people on the fringes, however, are left out. In the evolution of the RTS genre, there was an interesting offshoot in the form of the Ground Control games. These sported an interesting 3D perspective that was never truly adopted by the mainstream RTS producers. Most players within the identifiable RTS market segment did not enjoy these games and so it was not in the best interest of the game developers to include the innovative features in their designs.
However, some players enjoyed these titles quite a lot. As the mechanics for RTS games become highly standardized, these fringe players were alienated by games in the mature genre. A 2D Warcraft title just didn't provide the same rewards that this fringe group was looking for.
Some of those gamers left gaming. It may take being alienated from several genres, but eventually a few decided that there were better activities to spend their time on. The market was simply not serving their needs. This shrinks the market.
Goodbye semi-hardcore: The mainstream group, however, fares only a little better. When you recycle the same standardized game mechanics, you put players at severe risk of burnout on a genre. There are only so many FPS many people can play before they don't want to play them any more. This is less of a problem for the super hardcore players. However, it is a substantial problem for the less hardcore players.
As the less hardcore players burn out on the game mechanics of their favorite genres, they too are at risk of leaving the game market. The result is a steady erosion of the genre's population.
What is left is a very peculiar group of highly purified hardcore players. They demand rigorous standardization of game mechanics and have highly refined criteria for judging the quality of their titles. With each generation of titles in the genre, they weed out a few more of the weaker players.
This is a completely self-supporting process with strong social forces at work. Players form communities around their hardcore nature. They happily eject those who do not fit the ideal player mold. They defend the validity of their lifestyle with a primitive tribal passion.
There is no internal force within a genre lifecycle that can break this cycle. Only external forces can do the trick. The question is, who would want to break this cycle and who wants to maintain it?
Who genre maturation is good for
Genre maturation is great for the very small minority of AAA developers that can serve the hardcore market. They release titles known as genre kings that are able to address the needs of a large percentage of an existing, well defined segment of genre addicts. Genre kings dominate a particular genre with impressive financial results. The amount of money genre kings such as Halo 2, Half Life, Warcraft, Grand Turismo and other rake in is an inspiration to both developers, gamers and publishers everywhere.
Hardcore genre addicts easily pay for themselves. On average they are willing to spend substantially more on games than the casual or the fringe gamer. When a genre becomes standardized, there is literally an explosion of revenue that comes from successfully tapping into a uniform set of needs. This scalability is a basic attribute of software and is a major mechanic behind hit making in the game industry.
As long as new genres are being created and money gained from better capturing homogenous segments genre addicts is high, the industry as a whole grows with a few fat king of the genre companies taking in the majority of the money.
Who consolidation is bad for
However, when the majority of money and effort is spent on capturing existing markets and not enough is spent on seeding new genres, the natural erosion of less hardcore players begins to decrease the overall market size.
It is easy to ignore this trend. Overall player numbers may decrease in certain genres, but remember that hardcore players spend more and flock to specific games in great numbers. So total revenues keep going up, and the revenues of hit titles keep going up. It seems silly to shout that the sky is falling when there are so many examples of over-the-top success. This is the current state of the American game market.
Only after the trend has been going on for some time does the erosion become too much to ignore. The substantial decreases in the overall revenue of the Japanese market place over the last five years provided a major warning signal. You could easily argue that similar erosion has occurred in the PC market.
People who are less likely to care:
- Sony and Microsoft have built strong brands around servicing the hardcore players of existing genres. To say that the sky is falling shows a lack of faith in the hardcore market - that could be very damaging.
- Major genre king developers like Blizzard, Valve, Epic and Square. Their bread is buttered. They own the mature genres and will milk them for many years to come.
- Companies that serve a diverse user bases: Oddly enough, both EA and Nintendo are in this group. They are broadly diversified such that major trends in industry directly affect their bottom line. Sony is in a bit of a pickle since they fit this definition as well. (Hence they'll release the Eye Toy, but keep their main controller for the PS/3 as standard as humanly possible)
- Companies that value brands over genres: People often look at Nintendo's releases of a half dozen Mario games a year and assume that they are all clones. In fact, they are typically radically different games across a wide variety of genres. Nintendo gains their value from the Mario brand, not ownership of a specific genre. Brand-based companies rely on the creation of new genres since they can take that brand into the genre for a low risk profit opportunity.
That last point about the strategies of brand-based publishers is an important one. Nintendo needs new genres to make money.
Nintendo makes the majority of their money by leveraging their brand recognition during the early to mid-stages of a genre's life cycle. The power of the Mario character can establish a Nintendo game as an early genre king and help tap into a new market segment for great profit. However, as they get later into the life cycle, the standardization of the genre mechanics and the intense demands of the hardcore population reduces the power of the brand.
A few major games will dominate the mature genre and it is unlikely that Nintendo's will be one of them. Nintendo's fixation on new genres and their unwillingness to pander completely and utterly to the existing hardcore audiences has made their name mud with many of the most vocal elite in the game industry.
Product innovation leads to increased profitability
C'est la vie. You can't have it all. Focusing on product innovation at the expense of commodity markets is a classic business strategy that is used successfully in non-game companies around the world. Companies like 3M are required as part of their strategic plan to have 30% of their revenue come from new products. They are constantly exiting markets when strong competition emerges and constantly competing with themselves by offering new products that outdate their existing products. Nintendo releases new genres where other companies release new products, but the basics are the same.
The non-business person looks at this strategy with horror. Nintendo invented the 3D platformer, yet they have no major product in that niche at the moment. Surely this is the most obvious sort of stupidity. However, consider the following portfolio management issues:
- The likelihood of getting a genre king early on in a genre life cycle if you invented the genre is quite high. Competition is limited.
- The cost of creating a genre king early in the genre life cycle is low. You can rely on things like simplified graphics and limited amounts of content. The neo-retro graphics of most Nintendo games has a lower cost of production than the realistic look of many of its competitors.
- The cost of creating a genre king late in the genre life cycle is high. Customers demand realistic graphics, voiceovers, cut scenes, loads of extra content, etc.
- The risk of having your game not becoming king of the genre goes up. The competition is simply greatly increased. Mario is a great game, but would it own the entire genre if it were forced to compete against Jax and Daxter, Sly Cooper, Prince of Persia and others?
Consider this tidbit. The Xbox, which focuses on highly mature genres catering to hardcore gamers has production costs of $1.82 million a title. The Gamecube costs half as much at $822,000 a title. The real kicker is that the Nintendo DS only costs $338, 286 a title to develop for, even less than the Gameboy. Some of these costs have to do with the hardware and development kits, but for the most part they are derived from the scope of the projects. Being able to develop successful titles at 1/5th the cost of your competitors is a major boost to your bottom line.
Thus, Nintendo's profitability and need to innovate go hand in hand. They need those new genres because the old ones quickly become too competitive and too expensive.
New controller features as a source of Innovation
The new controller is best seen in light of this larger corporate strategy.
One of the easiest ways of creating a new genre is to invent a new series of verbs (or risk mechanics as I called them in my Genre Life Cycle articles). One of the easiest ways of inventing new verbs is to create new input opportunities. Nintendo controls their hardware and they leverage this control to suit their particular business model.
And this is exactly what Nintendo has done historically. The original Dpad, the analog stick, the shoulder buttons, the C-stick, the DS touch pad, link capabilities, the tilt controller, the bongo drums…the list goes on and on.
Each time, they also bundle the controller innovation with a series of attempts at creating new dominant genres. Not all attempts are successful, but a few of them are highly successful. The 2D platformer, the 3D platformer, the Pokemon-style RPG, and the virtual pet game all come to mind as successes. By seeding a genre and by owning the key hardware platform that the new genre lives on, Nintendo achieves a position of financial stability and security that is unheard of in the game industry.
As a side note, folks who argue Nintendo should just make games for other platforms are completely missing the point. Nintendo needs to control their hardware platform in order to force innovation to occur in the control mechanisms. Other console manufacturers who rely on the hardcore audiences and standardized genres don't see this need. They would happily standardize the console platform and make it into a commodity. Microsoft has historically made major comments about having one universal development platform.
The moment Nintendo loses control over their hardware, they lose a major competitive advantage in terms of creating new genres.
The new controller
The new controller is yet another logical step along a path that Nintendo has been pursuing for many years. We are likely to see some very obvious patterns repeated.
- It allows for a wide variety of new verbs that are unique to Nintendo's hardware platform
- There will be a number of genre-seeding attempts that take advantage of the new verbs that are available. With luck and a lot of skill, one or more of these will become a major new genre. New genres bring in new gamers who are loyal to Nintendo.
- Nintendo will leverage their powerful brand to encourage early adoption and dominance of this genre. I'll make a bet that Mario, Pokemon or other major Nintendo brands will be a major element of their new genre attempts.
- As the years pass and the genre becomes mature, hard core gamers will consolidate within it and begin demanding more polished experiences. Craftsman-oriented companies will wrest control of the genre away from Nintendo.
- Nintendo will innovate once again in order to maintain higher profit margins.
There are also some obvious predictions that we can make about the game designs based off the standard genre lifecycles.
- Early titles will be essentially technology demos that showcase a specific core mechanic. There will be one or two major titles such as Mario 64 of yore that are highly evolved, but these will be few and far between due to the cost associated with evolving an entirely new genre over the span of a single game.
- Most early titles will sell small numbers, but will end up being decently profitable due to their low cost. The example given of Brain Training on the DS, which was created in a mere 4 months comes to mind. Even though it isn't selling what are typically considered 'blockbuster' numbers, it is an unqualified financial success. During this period a large number of new genre attempts will be successfully vetted.
- Only after a year or so will 2nd generation 'polished' games start to emerge. The cream of the core game mechanics tested in the first generation will be layered with all the traditional trappings of a modern video game.
- One or two 'major new genres' will emerge. These will be highly profitable and Nintendo will attempt to turn some of them into exclusive franchises. Mario Kart and Mario Party are good examples of this from previous generations.
In the past, Nintendo built these new genre attempts internally. They got to own the IP and enjoyed the resulting success that comes from being one of the few to understand the benefits of innovation. The result has been a focus on a small number of 1st party development efforts and a trickle of titles. Unfortunately for them there are other innovative people in the world. New genre successes such as GTA on other consoles provided substantial and painful competition.
I see this changing somewhat with the DS. We are starting to get some wacky ideas from smaller companies and Nintendo seems to be a bit more welcoming of others. Nintendo needs to pursue this path further by allowing new companies to join the experimentation stage.
Nintendo's strategy of pursuing innovation benefits the entire industry. It brings in new audiences and creates new genres that provide innovative and exciting experiences. The radical new controller is a great example of this strategy in action.
Surprisingly, this also benefits Microsoft and it benefits Sony. As the years pass, the hard core publishers that serve mature genres will adopt previously innovative genres and commoditize them. Their profits will be less, but they'll keep a lot of genre addicts very happy. Everybody wins when a game company successfully innovates.
I see both of these strategies as a necessary and expected part of a vibrant and growing industry. Industries need balance and Nintendo is a major force of much needed innovation that prevents industry erosion and decline.
On a slightly less analytic note, I for one can't wait to play the new games on the Nintendo Revolution. With all the new game ideas that will be demonstrated, it is certainly a great time to be a game designer. A couple years down the road, I suspect that this will also be a great time to be a gamer. :-)
Take care


text:
Dr. Wayne Koff Senior Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer, International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, USA
Wayne C. Koff is an internationally recognized leader in AIDS vaccine research and development. He has been honored twice by the United States Department of Health and Human Services with the Special Act of Service Award for developing innovative strategies to accelerate the development of AIDS vaccines. He oversees the... read moreInternational AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) programs in AIDS vaccine research, discovery and development. Prior to joining IAVI, Wayne served between 1992 and 1998 as vice president, Vaccine Research and Development at United Biomedical, Inc., where he was responsible for the vaccine R&D program. During his tenure, the company conducted the first AIDS vaccine trials in Brazil, China and Thailand. From 1988-1992, Wayne served as chief of the Vaccine Research and Development Branch, Division of AIDS, at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the US National Institutes of Health, where he helped establish the AIDS vaccine development program. An adjunct professor in the Department of Microbiology at the State University of New York, Stony Brook, Wayne has published more than 100 scientific papers and edited seven books on vaccine development. He received his Ph.D. from Baylor College of Medicine.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Operation Recovery's Right to Heal Tour
Join Scott Kimball, Sergio Kochergin, and Aaron Hughes to learn about the work they've been doing down at Fort Hood organizing the military community to defend its right to heal from war and end the deployment of traumatized troops.
Events will also feature music and poetry performances.
Please spread the word to your friends who are veterans, active duty military, reservists, National Guard, and military family members by sharing this link via email and facebook.
Join us in a city near you!
Tour dates:
Fri 7/22, 7:00 PM - Dallas, TX
- First Unitarian Church of Dallas
- 4015 Normandy Avenue, Dallas, TX
- Music by Nicky Bee
- Facebook event page:http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=218520751518535
Sun 7/24 - Albuquerque, NM
- 3:00 PM Teach-in
- 6:00 PM Potluck
- Albuquerque Center for Peace & Justice
- 202 Harvard St., Albuquerque, NM
- Music by Nicky Bee
Mon 7/25, 6:00 PM - Colorado Springs, CO
- Gay and Lesbian Fund for Colorado
- 315 East Costilla St. Colorado Springs, CO
- Music by Nicky Bee
Thurs 7/28, 7:00 PM - San Francisco, CA
- Siri's place
- 766 Fell St (Between Webster and Fillmore)
- San Francisco, CA
- Please RSVP Siri Margerin: firstname.lastname@example.com - 415-863-3771
- Music by Ryan Harvey
Fri 7/29 - Sacramento, CA
Sat 7/30 - Los Angeles, CA
- IVAW speaks at LA Rising concert with Rage Against the Machine
- Click here for more info about the concert: http://kroq.radio.com/2011/05/09/l-a-rising-july-30-2011-l-a-coliseum-rage-against-the-machine-muse-rise-against-and-more/
Sun 7/31 - Fort Lewis, WA
- Coffee Strong Cafe
- 15109 Union Ave Lake Wood, WA
- Music by Ryan Harvey
Check out more information about Operation Recovery here.


text:
I have received requests for the Tales from Grace Chapel Inn Series list of books from quite a few people. These books are not mysteries, but (apparently) this Guideposts' Tales from Grace Chapel Inn Series is very akin to some of the mystery series which I have posted in previous entries:
Mystery and the Minister's Wife Mystery Series
The Tales from Grace Chapel Inn Series is a series of NON mystery chronological books, which is published by Guideposts. The series follows three sisters who live in Pennsylvania. Alice, Jane, and Louise run a Bed & Breakfast. The series is written by several Christian authors…
I have written another entry which has other authors who don't use profanity in their novels (as far as I am aware!)


text:
Paul Greengrass's Green Zone takes us on a frenetic trip down memory lane — back to the beginning of the Iraq War. Soon after the 2003 invasion, soldier Roy Miller (Greengrass muse Matt Damon) starts to question Washington's intel on weapons of mass destruction, as he and his squad chase down bogus tipoffs and keep coming up empty-handed.
Miller's hunt for the truth soon entangles him with a compromised WSJ reporter (Amy Ryan), a loathsome bureaucrat (Greg Kinnear), a grizzled CIA operative (Brendan Gleeson), and a patriotic Iraqi (Khalid Abdalla). Adapted from Rajiv Chandrasekaran's Imperial Life in the Emerald City, Green Zone is a Greengrass hybrid, something between United 93 and the Bourne movies.
Although COPS-style visual tumult occasionally heightens the thrill, the film just doesn't stand still long enough to let the proper degree of suspense seep in. Despite the narrative whiplash, however, it's an engrossing (if fictionalized) answer to the question "How did we get here, exactly?"
Table of Contents
Cover Archive
Masthead | Authors | Contact us
See all articles by: SHAULA CLARK
All Slideshows


text:
This page has been archived and is being provided for reference purposes only. The page is no longer being updated, and therefore, links on the page may be invalid.
Gulfprince Peach Makes Market Debut
By Sharon Durham
November 14, 2003
Gulfprince, a new peach variety that can tree-ripen for several extra days, thus becoming sweeter and juicier, is now available to consumers.
The new variety, released to growers in 1999, was developed by the Agricultural Research Service, the University of Georgia and the University of Florida. It was planted in grower orchards in 2001.
Thomas Beckman, a horticulturist at the ARS Fruit and Tree Nut Research Laboratory in Byron, Ga., was part of the ARS-university team that developed the new peach. Gulfprince possesses several qualities that make it appealing to various market sectors.
The new peach is a "non-melting" variety, meaning it can remain on the tree three to four days longer than a traditional "melting" peach variety. Whether a peach is melting or non-melting comes down to a difference in one gene that enables the fruit to stay firmer longer. The additional time on the tree allows the fruit to accumulate more sugar, attain more juiciness and become more fragrant.
Consumers will also like Gulfprince's size and color. More than 2-1/2 inches in diameter, it is red with a deep-yellow skin color, an attractive combination that consumers seem to prefer. The non-melting peach also improves handling capacity because it's slow to soften and doesn't bruise easily.
Beckman and his colleagues continue to work on developing additional varieties that ripen at different times, thus extending the peach season.
ARS is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientific research agency.


text:
Fraud and Identity Theft
Information and resources to protect yourself and your family from fraud and identity theft.
It's not always easy to spot con artists. They invade your home through the telephone, computer, and mail; advertise in well-known newspapers and magazines; and come through your door. Most people think they're too smart to fall for a scam, but the opposite is true.
The National Consumer League's National Fraud Information Center reported that from January to September 2005, online auctions accounted for 42 percent of all complaints received. Far worse, the average loss was an astounding $1,129. The loss to consumers from identity theft was $5 billion in 2004, with an average loss of $400, $1,440 if the crime was committed online.
One particularly insidious type of crime preys on the goodwill of the American public: charity fraud, which increases at times of national tragedies and natural disasters. (According to the Better Business Bureau's Wise Giving Alliance, Americans gave $200 billion to charity in 2000.) Anyone can fall victim to these crooks: Almost without fail, they're well-mannered, friendly, and helpful—at least at first.
Information about Fraud and Identity Theft
Identity Smart
A Guide For Consumers to Help Protect Against Identity Theft
Evolving with Technology
A comprehensive introduction to cybercrime with links to resources
Tips to Prevent Identity Theft
Keep yourself safe from criminals who want to steal your personal information
Products and Publications on Fraud and Identity Theft
Preventing Identity Theft
Colorful, twelve page booklet on preventing identity theft. Available in packs of 10
Preventing Fraud, Abuse, and Other Crime on the Internet
This report explains why the Internet is so attractive to criminals and con artists, and how to protect yourself
Safer Seniors
This kit, written for community resource liaisons, was designed to help teach seniors about fraud, safety, and crime prevention so they can learn how to protect themselves and feel safer
Small Community Investment Can Protect Seniors Against Fraud
This report explores reasons seniors are disproportionately vulnerable to fraud, identifies key components of a Safety Net, looks at how a Safety Net can work, and identifies benefits to the community and its residents
Downloadable Resources on Fraud and Identity Theft
Size | Description | Title |
1.4 MB | Newspaper Mat Feature: In the course of the day, you do many activities that put your personal information at risk — from writing a check at the store to char... | 7 Tips on Preventing Identity Theft |
44.1 kB | A reproducible brochure with tips on how to protect your computer from scammers | 10 Tips To Secure Your Personal Computer |
65.5 kB | A two-page report on how to invest safely and avoid financial fraud | Avoid Investment Fraud |
60.2 kB | A two-page report on how to ensure that your give wisely to charity and avoid charity fraud | Charitable Giving Done Wisely |
46.9 kB | This one page PDF identifies many of the typical scams to watch out for online | Don't Be Scammed |
3.9 MB | This presentation defines identity theft, discusses why participants should worry about it, examines how identity theft occurs, looks at how identity theft has ... | Identity Theft and Strategies for Crime Prevention |
1.2 MB | A reproducible brochure on preventing identity theft | Identity Theft Brochure |
20.0 kB | This research brief looks at the correlation between iPod popularity and increased theft | Is There An iCrime Wave |
357.7 kB | A reproducible brochure with guidelines for employees on keeping company information protected | Keeping Insider Information Inside |
2.3 MB | Mortgage Fraud Report |


text:
My experience began three weeks before my heart attack. First, I had a sick feeling that came over me while I was teaching school; the term would be over in three weeks. Thinking I was having a heart attack, the EMT's came and got me at school took me to the emergency room, but it turned out to be acid reflux (a common precursor to heart attack). So I went back to school.
A week before my heart attack I was watching TV and a man who had had a heart transplant spoke to the audience and said he took 90 pills a day and could not miss even one pill. If he got sick he would have to take more pills. I thought to myself, "I will not get a heart transplant." He kept saying the same thing over and over: "do not get a heart transplant". Well finally I said out loud even though no one was in the room with me: "I declare no heart transplant."
Exactly a week later I was in the ER again. I felt I had been hit with a bolt of lighting, down fast and quiet. I did not have time to think or react; I even got into a tubful of hot water, thinking that I had strained a muscle. I was in horrible pain and I was scared. A knowing feeling came over me and a voice said "you need to go to the emergency room now".
It was the same voice I had heard when I had been in a horrible car accident 20 years before this and I remembered that I had not listened to it. So I responded right then. I ran down the steps and told my husband to take me to ER; he had phoned my doctor who had told him the same thing. I walked myself into the emergency room, thinking again acid reflux however when I saw the look on the receptionist's face I knew something was very wrong. They got me in the room and gave me a liquid that worked when I was in there 3 weeks prior to stop reflux pain, but this time it came straight up and out of my mouth and hit the opposite wall! Now everything moves into slow motion and I see everything in the room and what is happening to me in my solar plexus and I saw how afraid everyone was but yet I had a very calming voice inside me telling me to be still and quiet. I just become very calm and peaceful. I then they said they had stabilized me for the trip to another city. I heard the EMT say "she is not going to make it," and I remember wanting to say to him, "you should not say things around people like me, they just may believe it." I now realize he did not say anything out loud; he had said it to himself. I was hearing his mental thoughts. While I was being transported to the other hospital, I had another out of body experience and left and went outside of the ambulance and followed until I realized I was inside the ambulance as well as outside of it.
That was when I was lifted up and out into a room with 12 beings of light in robes. The room was see-through and I could see all the planets throughout the universe. I did not go to the light I went straight up and had a seat. We talked with no words, but images and feelings. I understood all they were talking about. But I also was so fascinated with what I was experiencing. I was taught different levels of science and this was like being in a Big School of Truth, Knowledge, and Love but all mixed up. However I was very aware that I was sitting in a chair. I could not see the chair; I could feel my hands, feet, and chair but could not see them for I had no eyes. But I could see them with another set of my soul's eyes. I could see everything the council of twelve told me.
I had to go to review my life. Now I did not like that idea one bit, but knew it had to be done. I came to another place in my mind -- it was a place I had knowing of before, but now I went with a light that was wordless. I felt a love I have never experienced here on Earth. I sat in something resembling a director's chair. I was directed to look out into the universe and watch and I started seeing a dot, coming faster toward me, speeding down fast and then it was my life from the minute I was conceived to current times. I have had 3 other NDEs and I knew about this from my mom mostly: I was born in 1951 and I was my mother's 7th miscarriage. I weighed 1 lb and 7oz. I had drowned twice and I saw both incidents as I reviewed my life. But in the review it connected the dots of knowledge behind the picture and why all that had to happen. I did not review everything, but just certain details of my life such as when I was in 5th Grade and how mean I was and that I followed a group of other girls to hurt a particular girl's feelings. When I reviewed that event, I felt her pain, knowing that God felt it also, and I knew I had an opportunity to make a better choice but picked the group of girls over my soul. That was very awakening for me. I saw how I had harmed myself through poor choices that I had not realized were actual choices (at the time). That was a big message: everyone has all kinds of options and choices, but which one will serve your highest good, and doing that it turns out to serve all souls to their highest good. This was an opportunity to experience God from a whole new perspective, and that is what it is all about: perspective. I rode with the Universe of God in the wheel of life and I became a spoke in the wheel. The Universe was the center. There were billions of us rolling through the Universe and experiencing without emotions, fear, or judgment.
I viewed my life and several events and realized that we are all one with the Universe so when I hurt someone I was really hurting myself and even more so I was hurting every soul in the Universe. I realized I was pure white light and each soul had a different hue, but I could see them very clearly. Many souls could not make their soul review due to the fact they were still in the beliefs of Earth in right and wrong. There is no right and wrong as God said: "Heaven is not a gated community; it is open for all to enter here." God's gift of truth and love (goodness over doubt) helped me to stop doubting myself; I came to know that I am the light of God.
I traveled through the Universe called the wheel of life. God or the consciousness of God was the center and we were all the spokes of the wheel. I felt what God felt and I knew what God's knowledge is not of this world but a different world full of vibrations and colors never seen on Earth. I realized we are all light, frequency, vibrations, and most of all pure love.


text:
Uniper Technologies
- Address:
- Technology Centre, Ratcliffe-on-Soar, Nottingham NG11 0EE
- Telephone:
- +44 (0)7769 931649
- Contact:
- John Trelawny, Team Leader Specialist Inspections
- Email address:
- firstname.lastname@example.com
- Web address:
- www.uniper.energy
- Affiliations & Approvals:
- Trade Group Member (BINDT)
- Description:
Uniper Technologies (formerly E.ON Technologies) provides a comprehensive range of NDT, condition monitoring, materials and plant life assessment services.
NDT Capabilities
With over 40 years of experience inspecting power plant, Uniper Technologies has established a high-quality NDT service based on strong technical foundations, supported by metallurgical and assessment engineers who can advise on the significance of the results for future operation.
Uniper Technologies can help you in the following areas:
NDT Contract Management: provision of a complete NDT contract management service during plant overhauls that is tailored to the needs of customers.
Audit and Surveillance of NDT Contracts: to ensure that NDT is carried out by qualified staff to approved procedures. This service includes advice on remedial actions and can be performed on-site or in manufacturers' works.
Consultancy: Uniper Technologies' extensive experience of the application of NDT enables it to offer consultancy in inspection design and NDT procedure development.
Inspection Services: all inspection methods employed are carried out by staff qualified to the highest standards in NDT. Relevant background knowledge of the engineering and metallurgical nature of the inspection ensures that the optimum technique is applied.
Condition Monitoring Capabilities
Uniper Technologies provides a comprehensive range of condition monitoring services, adding value through its extensive engineering expertise and the use of remote data acquisition and expert system analysis.
The condition monitoring services can be used to determine the health of turbines, transformers, generators and motors, heat exchange surfaces, fans, pumps, mills, gearboxes, insulation and linings.
Uniper Technologies is accredited to BS EN ISO 9001 and 14001.


text:
TOM: Coast to coast and floorboards to shingles, this is The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show. I'm Tom Kraeutler.
LESLIE: And I'm Leslie Segrete.
TOM: And we are here for you, to help you with your summer home improvement projects. So take a look around the yard, maybe in the morning while it's cool, and then plan your day. We know there's something you want to get done. Give us a call at 888-MONEY-PIT. We will help you take that first step. Too hot outside to work? Well, lots of inside projects can get done in the summer, as well. Just give us a call and we will get going together, 888-666-3974.
Well, speaking of summer, as we've already seen, those summer storms, including tornados, strike fast and without much warning. They can be totally devastating. So, we thought, "Hey, are you prepared?" Well, you may not be. So this hour, we're going to talk about what we can all learn from the tornado that hit Moore, Oklahoma.
LESLIE: And have you ever found yourself in need of a plumber, like immediately? Finding a good plumber is really important but even more difficult when you've got an emergency situation. We're going to tell you how to find a competent pro the easy way.
TOM: And have you ever wondered if you're able to get the best deal for your utilities? You might be able to do something about it. In fact, in some parts of the country, homeowners actually have the choice in terms of which company supplies their power. We're going to tell you how to use that power of choice to lower your energy costs.
LESLIE: And also this hour, one caller is going to get a fabulous, time-saving, new way to cook dinner. We've got a new Frigidaire Professional Convection Oven up for grabs and it's worth $150.
TOM: And we're going to give that convection oven away to one caller that has the courage, the fortitude, the bravery to pick up the phone and call us and say, "Hey, I need help with my home improvement project."
The number is 1-888-MONEY-PIT. We will draw one name out of The Money Pit hard hat from those that reach us for today's program and send out, perhaps, that Frigidaire Professional Convection Oven to you worth 150 bucks. So, let's get started, 888-MONEY-PIT.
Leslie, who's first?
LESLIE: We've got Terri in Pennsylvania on the line who's got a gutter issue. Tell us what's going on.
TERRI: I have white aluminum gutters and on the gutters that face the southern exposure, the part of the gutter that faces out is turning black and there's like – where the water runs off it, it's like a dark gray and just water drips all along the face of the gutter.
TOM: Right. So does it seem like the gutters are overflowing and the water is coming over the top and getting these sort of drip marks? Is that what's going on?
TERRI: Well, yeah. I have what's called a "gutter insert" to keep the leaves out. And I know that – well, I'm pretty sure that that's not causing it, because I had the same problem when I lived on Long Island. And it was only the gutters that faced south and on Long Island, we had a white aluminum top to the gutter to keep the leaves out?
TOM: Right. Mm-hmm.
TERRI: And then the water would roll off of that and then go into the – it would be caught into the gutter. So, it's a different type of leaf system but I'm still having the same black drip.
TOM: Right. OK. So, first of all, I would make sure that the gutters are not blocked and that water isn't backing up and overflowing that particular gutter, so that – because that water rolling over the top of it, it can get behind it, it can rot out your fascia.
The dark stains are probably from the water and tree sap and everything else that gets into those gutters. The gutters also fade quite easily; the paint wears off and fades quite easily. So I don't think it's a stain that you're going to actually have to be able to clean. I think what you're going to end up having to do here, Terri, is repaint those gutters.
So what I would do is I would wash them down with a trisodium phosphate, get as much of that gunk off. Then I would prime them and I would paint them again. But just – but do make sure that they're not clogged, because that could be leading to the problem.
TERRI: But yeah – no, they're definitely not clogged. And I tried scrubbing it – the ones that aren't on the second story, where it's worse. But the ones that are on the first story, I tried cleaning it with a Fantastik and it bleeds into the stain a little bit but I didn't realize that the aluminum gutters – was it like a hydrostatic or electrostatic painting process?
TOM: What happens is – and you'll see this: if you take the gutter and you wipe your hand over it, you'll probably get some white paint that will come off. It oxidizes because it's exposed to UV. And so then the paint doesn't tend to last more than maybe 10 years or so on aluminum gutters.
So I think, though, if you clean off as much of this thing as you can, prime it and paint it, it'll look great.
TERRI: Alright. Great. I'll give it a try.
LESLIE: Ed in Minnesota is on the line and needs some help getting his deck ready for summer. What can we do for you?
ED: Yeah. I'm needing to restain my deck. Wondering what the proper prep is for that and what – most of all, what the moisture content should be before a guy stains.
TOM: That's a great question. Is this an older deck? Something that you had on for a number of years?
ED: It is. And it's a pine – 2×6-type pine wood.
TOM: OK. So, the most important thing is that you clean the deck thoroughly before you stain it. You need to make sure you get rid of any mildew or algae. And you can use a mildicide to do that – a product like Wet & Forget or another mildicide – to clean any debris that's off that deck.
You asked an important question about moisture content. We'd like to see the deck be a few days without rain, or certainly without it being sort of washed down, so that the new stain or finish absorbs properly. One little, quick test that you can do is if you put a cup of water on the deck and it all gets absorbed pretty quickly, then it's probably OK to go ahead and stain it. And this way, the stain will really bite down into that.
When it comes to the stain, you're going to have choices of clear, semi-transparent or solid color. You'll find that if you use a solid-color stain, you're going to get a lot more pigment. And it's going to stay that color for a lot longer than if you use a semi-transparent, which tends to show the grain of the wood through a little bit more. But frankly, with a flat grain like pine, it's not going to make that big of a difference. So I would recommend solid color.
ED: That answers my question.
TOM: Terrific. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: You are tuned to The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show on air and online at MoneyPit.com. Well, the calendar says it: it's officially summer. And let us help you get your money pit, and the yard around your money pit, in tip-top shape for prime summer relaxing. We're here for you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-888-MONEY-PIT.
TOM: And summer means it's also severe-storm season. Do you know what to do if a severe storm is heading your way? We're going to tell you, after this.
(theme song)
ANNOUNCER: The Money Pit is brought to you by DeWALT. DeWALT's new rugged and innovative line of mechanics tools is so tough, DeWALT is proud to back them with a full lifetime warranty. When there's a tough job to get done, rely on a trusted name. Rely on DeWALT. Available at Sears. For more information, visit DeWALT.com.
TOM: Making good homes better, welcome back to The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show. I'm Tom Kraeutler.
LESLIE: And I'm Leslie Segrete.
TOM: Give us a call right now. 888-MONEY-PIT is the telephone number, 888-666-3974. We're going to answer your home improvement question and perhaps you will be the lucky caller who gets a new Frigidaire Professional Convection Oven. We've got one to give away. It's the ultimate, time-saving way to whip up a gourmet meal with a large oven space that uses infrared technology to heat up evenly and quickly.
It's worth $150. It's available at Target through the end of June but you can check it out at Frigidaire.com or call us right now at 888-MONEY-PIT. You've got to have a home improvement question. We will answer it and put your name into The Money Pit hard hat and perhaps you'll win that oven from Frigidaire. So let's get to it, 888-666-3974.
LESLIE: Pam in Missouri is on the line and has a question about installing a dimmer, a great do-it-yourself project. How can we help you, Pam?
PAM: I have a room that has fluorescent lighting in it and there's two entries into that room. So there's a light switch on each door, so it's a two-way switch. Can I put a sensor on that so that when you walk in and walk out, the lights come on and go off?
TOM: Are you asking me if you can? Can you put a sensor on that?
PAM: Yes.
TOM: Is your concern that you want the lights to come on automatically or is your concern that you don't want people to leave the lights on when no one is in the room?
PAM: Both.
TOM: Well, I guess you could use an occupancy-sensor switch there but you would need to set it in vacancy mode, not occupancy mode. See, in occupancy mode, the light comes on when there's motion. So if you had a three-way, what could happen is you walk in the room, the switch closest to you picks up your motion, turns the lights on. You continue halfway through the room until the one on the other side picks it up and turns the lights off, so that wouldn't work too well.
A better option might be to just replace one side of it – just one of the switches – with an occupancy sensor but set it in what's called the "vacancy mode." So what that means is you manually turn the light switch on but if there's no motion in the room, it will automatically go off.
So we use these, for example, in the bedrooms upstairs at our house because kids turn lights on but as we all know, kids don't turn the lights off. So, if you set it in the vacancy mode, they can turn the lights on but then they'll go off, depending on the period of monitoring you set. They'll either go off 1, 5, 15 or 30 minutes later.
PAM: Oh, OK. Alright. That would work. Thank you.
TOM: Hope that helps you out and thanks so much for calling us at 1-888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: Now we've got Olen in North Carolina on the line who needs some help with a radiant floor-system project. Tell us what you're working on. Are you doing this yourself?
OLEN: Yeah, I am a do-it-yourselfer kind of guy and I'm going to just do the rough end of the tubing myself. I'm going to leave the pumps and whatnot to the professionals. But it's sort of smart to let the – to have somebody to do the hard stuff for you. But I figure I can do the tubing myself.
And my question regards the choice between PEX and Onix tubing and about cost-effectiveness.
OLEN: And which one is more appropriate for my region? I'm in North Carolina.
LESLIE: Well, what type of subfloor are you working with?
OLEN: I'm going to be working on my existing, open floor joists and 16-inch centers, so I've got plenty of space under there to staple up either the aluminum plates or to put up the rubberized Onix material.
LESLIE: Mm-hmm. And what's going to be your flooring?
OLEN: Above it, I will have a hardwood floor and in some areas, I'm going to be putting down the cement board and tile on top.
LESLIE: OK. Now, when you're dealing with radiant flooring with hardwood, you have to make sure that the certain type of hardwood you buy is appropriate for radiant. And it depends on the way the graining is cut. And I forget exactly what it's called but you have to make sure you buy the correct type of grain, the way the piece of flooring for the wood itself is cut. Otherwise, you're going to get a lot of shifting and movement just due to the nature of the heating.
OLEN: Right. I hear that the PEX tends to cause a little bit more expansion and contraction in the tubing itself. And my floor is actually existing pine floor; it's only a certain area where I'll be putting in the cement board and the tile.
TOM: Well, look, I think that either product, as long as it's installed consistent with the manufacturer's instructions, is going to be fine. PEX is really the more common, known product for this and we've seen it in many, many houses. PEX stands for cross-linked polyethylene. Onix is cross-linked EPDM, so it's another formulation for a radiant-tubing product.
Personally, I would use PEX only because it seems to have the history. I know that Onix was used a lot on outdoor applications for snow melting and that sort of thing. But because it's inside the house and because it's got such a great reputation, I would use PEX. And I have seen PEX become very, very indestructible when it comes to its ability to work with all sorts of conditions inside the house.
In fact, I saw a demonstration once. One thing that's cool about PEX is the memory that it has. You can heat this stuff and stretch it to twice its length and let it go and it goes back to its original shape. So it retains its original shape.
So it's a pretty impressive product and I think it's got the history. And that's what I think I would trust if I was going to go radiant in my house.
OLEN: OK. Well, thank you.
TOM: Well, after seeing the devastation that was left by the massive tornado that tore through Moore, Oklahoma this past spring, we thought it would be a very good time to review the best way to prepare your family for such a disaster.
Now, your best bet for survival is riding it out underground. To do that, you need a designated meeting place, perhaps in your basement, that your entire household is aware of. It really should be free of debris and anything flammable.
It's also a good idea to keep an old, fresh transistor radio down there because this way, you can keep up with the progress of the storm if the cell towers go down.
LESLIE: Now, if you don't have a basement or even if you do, for that matter, another option is to build a tornado storm shelter. Now, FEMA has a free guide book to tell you how to do it or you can purchase ready-to-assemble kits.
Tornado shelters, they're designed to protect you from an F5 tornado and architecturally can be blended into your home to serve a dual purpose. You can get one that doubles as a master-bedroom closet or even your garage.
TOM: But really, the most important thing that we can all learn from the folks in Moore, Oklahoma is that people there listened to the warnings and took them seriously. Otherwise, it would have been an even more tragic event than it was.
The tornado there was rare. It was so large, the call went out to evacuate. People understood that their lives were worth more than their homes and those who could got out fast. And thousands could have perished if they didn't.
So, one way we can honor the people of Moore is by following their example. In severe weather, be prepared, pay attention and act.
LESLIE: Now we've got Dwayne in Arkansas on the line who's got a chimney issue. How can we help you?
DWAYNE: I have a rock chimney, probably about 30 years old. It's about 6 foot by 4 foot on the outside. The inside flue is about 16 inches by 18 inches and the top part is capped off with mortar.
And over the years, that mortar has cracked and somebody has come in and put a – that sealer on top of it, like comes in a gallon or 5-gallon bucket: the black roof sealer? The sealer that often – it's done a good job but I'm afraid if I have a chimney fire, that stuff might melt and catch on fire and run down and catch the house on fire.
TOM: Well, if you have a chimney fire, Dwayne, you're going to have a bigger problem than this. Because a chimney fire is super-hot and can burn your whole house down.
DWAYNE: Right.
TOM: So I wouldn't worry about it melting. But it wasn't the best thing to do to the mortar. The right thing to do when you have cracking and chipping of that chimney area is you want to replace the mortar between the liner and the outside of the chimney.
DWAYNE: Right.
TOM: So that crown has to be broken off and then replaced. And it's not that big of a deal. I mean you can go up there with a mason's hammer and break it off in chunks; it'll come off pretty easily. And then lay in a new crown around it and just make that slope go from the liner out.
If it's got a couple of cracks in it, you can always caulk it to kind of buy you some time. But replacing that chimney crown is really the easiest thing to do. That plus adding a cap to it – a chimney cap – can help try to keep that water out, as well.
DWAYNE: Yeah. I didn't know. I have about a ½-inch of the flue still sticking up. I didn't know if they made some kind of a mortar-type substance that I could put over the top of what's there.
TOM: I would not put it on top of that asphalt. I would – at this point, I would take all the asphalt out.
See, here's what's wrong with the asphalt patch is that the water is going to get under that. And it can still deteriorate the mortar and it can freeze and break and really wreak havoc on that chimney. So I would pull that old stuff out and just replace that chimney crown. It's not a difficult job to do.
DWAYNE: Alright. I thank you so much.
TOM: You're welcome, Dwayne. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: Now we've got Kirk in California on the line who's dealing with a patio issue. Tell us what's going on.
KIRK: I have a 1974 house. And in the back, I have a patio that I believe was probably poured in the 70s, too. It's approximately 20×14, cordoned off into about 6 quads separated by 2x4s.
And under the eaves, with the little bit of rain we get, and along the main walkways, it's kind of getting worn down a little bit. And I wanted to know how to preserve that.
TOM: OK. So, first of all, in terms of the patio itself, if the surface is wearing off, you can use an epoxy patching compound on that surface. QUIKRETE makes a whole bunch of products that are designed just for that. You want to make sure you choose a product that's designed to stick to concrete and one that's designed to be a patch. Because if you try to use any type of just regular concrete or mortar, it just won't stick well. It might look good for a week and it'll start to chip and break apart, so you want to use one that's really going to adhere very, very well.
KIRK: OK. But how about with the epoxy? Will it still give it the original look?
TOM: Actually, if you do it to the whole patio, it'll look like a completely new patio. It will be actually quite attractive. You can get it in different colors, as well, OK?
KIRK: OK. I'll try that. OK. Thanks so much.
TOM: Alright. Good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: You are tuned to The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show on air and online at MoneyPit.com. Well, having a plumbing emergency is bad enough. Now, not knowing how to hire a plumber is even worse. This Old House plumbing expert Richard Trethewey is going to tell us how to find a pro, after this.
(theme song)
ANNOUNCER: Starting an outdoor staining project? Make it faster and easier with Flood Wood Care products. Start today at Flood.com/Simplify and use the interactive selection guide to find the right Flood Wood Care products for your project. Flood, simple across the board.
TOM: Making good homes better, welcome back to The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show. I'm Tom Kraeutler.
LESLIE: And I'm Leslie Segrete.
TOM: Would you like to know one of the most important keys to avoiding major and expensive home repairs? It's very simple: just clean your gutters. Log on to MoneyPit.com, check out our gutter-cleaning tips and you won't get caught spending needless money on home repairs.
The scope of home defects that can happen because of clogged gutters is a very long list: cracked foundations, slippery sidewalks, wet basements, flooded crawlspaces, you name it. Don't let it happen to you. Go to MoneyPit.com, get the information. Just search for "gutter-cleaning tips."
LESLIE: Alright. Gene in Tennessee is up with a roofing problem. Tell us what's going on.
GENE: About 12 years ago, I built me a screened-in porch on my house. I've got a ranch-type house.
GENE: And I used the metal clips – the little hangers – to hang my rafters. And I went in beside of my rafters coming off my existing house and it only gives me a 1-inch drop per foot. And I had a little trouble with it leaking and so I had the regular asphalt shingles put on and it leaks.
So, when I had my new roof put on about two years ago, I – seven years ago, I roofed the house and they recommended I put a rubber roof on a 10×30 addition to my house so the water would run off regular. And here, recently, about two years ago, I had one of the new shingles put on my roof. And I noticed that while I was up there, that the rubber seems to be kindly breaking down a little.
TOM: OK. So, a couple of things. First of all, you have a low-slope roof. You originally had asphalt shingles on that, which was a mistake because asphalt shingles, you really need at least like a 3:12 pitch to put those on. If you've got a 1:12 pitch, that's not enough.
So now you replaced that with a rubber roof, which was the right thing to do. But now you're seeing the rubber roof start to crack. So your question is: "How do I stop that? How do I protect it? How do I preserve it?" Correct?
GENE: Yeah, well, I want to add a few more. It was guaranteed 10 years but it's about 7 years old now and I want to make it last a little longer, yeah. Some kind of coating?
TOM: So what you want is simply roof paint. Now, roof paint is a very specialized type of paint. It's usually aluminum in color and sometimes they call it "fibrous aluminum." And what it does, it has a high degree of UV reflectivity, so it reflects the UV from the sun back out again. And that keeps the roof cooler and makes it last longer.
So, I would definitely give it a coat of roof paint. And if you go to a home center or a roofing-supply center and look for roof paint, you shouldn't have any problem finding it. It's very, very specialized. And we're not talking about the kind of paint you put on your walls; it's a roofing product. OK?
GENE: OK. Thank you.
TOM: Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: Well, the plumbing system is something that most consumers pay very little attention to unless, of course, it breaks down.
TOM: Definitely. And when that happens, you need it fixed, you need it fixed fast and usually to stop the water from flowing where it shouldn't be. So, even though the water could be streaming through your ceiling, how do you keep a clear head and hire a plumber that can get the job done fairly and fast?
Joining us now are two experts who know a lot about that topic. On the phone, we have Angie Hicks – she is the founder of Angie's List, a website devoted to helping consumers find the best professionals for their projects and service needs – and Richard Trethewey, the plumbing-and-heating expert on TV's This Old House.
Welcome, Angie.
ANGIE: Thanks for having me on the show.
TOM: And welcome, Richard.
RICHARD: Hey, there. How are you doing?
TOM: We're doing well.
Richard, let's start with you. First off, plumbers have specialties, don't they? I mean how do you make sure you find the right guy for the particular projects that you have?
RICHARD: Well, there are good general practitioners but we also tend to see there are guys that just do remodeling. They're used to going into these old houses and fighting their way into existing buildings. There are guys that just do commercial work and we call those "poodle kickers" because you wouldn't ever want them to be at the residential house.
TOM: Poodle kickers?
RICHARD: Because they would quietly kick the poodle when the homeowner wasn't looking. They're not used to being in the …
TOM: They don't like people.
RICHARD: Right.
LESLIE: The finesses.
RICHARD: They're not used to doing it in the residential environment.
And then there are HVAC mechanical guys. So you really want to start with – "What am I trying to do? Am I trying to just repair something? Am I trying to do a full remodel? Am I trying to add a whole new mechanical system?" And find the right person.
TOM: Now, Angie, let's go to you. It seems that many times, the need to hire a plumber is not optional. It's more of an emergency like when a pipe breaks. Are consumers more likely to make a hiring mistake when that kind of thing happens?
ANGIE: Hiring under an emergency situation is sometimes a disaster waiting to happen. Because all too often, we are overwhelmed by the experience that we end up hiring without doing our normal due diligence. So, some of my best advice is suggesting, hey, find a plumber that you can work with before you actually need it, because emergencies happen at the darndest times.
I had an experience over the summer where I had friends visiting for the weekend and the ejector pump on my toilet went out in my basement. And unfortunately, the last thing anyone wants is to find out that their guests are plunging their toilet, you know? There's nothing less inviting than that. And then you're ending up scrambling to have someone come out and do that so – to get it fixed.
So, do your research ahead of time so that you're prepared when the inevitable happens.
LESLIE: Richard, I think when it comes to hiring a plumber, there's really some specialized questions that you need to ask. So, how is it different when you're looking for a plumber than when asking for a different type of pro?
RICHARD: Well, I grew up with the – a sign in our office and at home that said, "The plumber protects the health of the nation." It's an old saying that we've lived by and so, with that, we come – we have this trust to bring clean water and to make sure the sewage goes away.
So there's heavy licensure. You have to be licensed. Even becoming an apprentice nowadays is much harder. We're also the guys that are working with gas and there's safety issues with gas. And so, we are heavily educated because we have to be and we're licensed. So, I think it's – with that comes a price in order to get a good guy or girl.
TOM: Well, absolutely. And that licensing requirement – yes, let's not leave the ladies out.
RICHARD: Thank you.
TOM: That licensing requirement really is a big commitment on your part to make that happen. And that really does protect the consumer, right?
RICHARD: That's right. We have to – we have apprentices that have to be three years of working there, 300 or 400 hours of schooling and then they can stand for their journeyman test. And then they can go and do another year or more and get their masters. And so that's a difficult process.
You have to work as an apprentice below real market rate and so – and even then, to really be good at it, it takes a long time to know the tricks of this – like any industry, it takes a while. Just getting your license is not enough; you still have to be in it to have the experience to do it well.
TOM: Let's talk about the – what it costs to hire a plumber. How do plumbers charge for their services? Is it always by the hour or does it really depend on the project?
ANGIE: They can range a wide variety, whether it be garbage disposals that don't work because we decide to put things in garbage disposals that just shouldn't go there. Sump pumps. Sump pumps are those silent friends. You think they're always working perfectly for you until the day they don't and your basement's full of water.
Clogged sinks. I mean that's probably the most common thing we hear. And people think, "Oh, that's a do-it-yourself kind of project. I can get some drain cleaner and fix that." But a lot of times, you really want to call a professional and make sure that drain is cleared well so that you don't potentially cause additional damage.
And then one of my favorites is the overflowing toilet. No one likes it when the toilet doesn't work. So, that's probably one of the more dreaded experiences.
LESLIE: Because so many projects for a plumbing situation really seem to be answering an emergency, Richard, is it good to have a plumber sort of in your pocket – one that you've got a relationship with and that you trust – prior to any of these things going wrong?
RICHARD: If you want to sleep at night – and most people have this: they have a plumber that is their plumber. And this …
LESLIE: Mm-hmm. You have a good bond with your plumber.
RICHARD: Absolutely.
LESLIE: I feel like you get a good relationship.
RICHARD: Our family business has been around since 1902. We're now dealing with fourth and fifth generations of families that we've maintained their plumbing and it's sort of a trust that we have together. You want to have somebody you know, somebody you can trust that's going to be there. And it's better to have that relationship before the emergency because once you start dialing in the phone book at night – and people don't know you're not going to get the same response as you would from somebody that you already had an established relationship with.
TOM: Great advice. Richard Trethewey, the plumbing-and-heating expert on TV's This Old House, and Angie Hicks, the founder of AngiesList.com, thanks so much for stopping by The Money Pit and teaching us how to find and hire a good plumber.
RICHARD: Great to see you.
TOM: And Angie, thanks so much.
ANGIE: Thank you.
LESLIE: Alright. You can catch the current season of This Old House and Ask This Old House on PBS. For local listings and step-by-step videos of many common home improvement projects, visit ThisOldHouse.com.
And for help finding a great pro to tackle your projects, visit AngiesList.com.
TOM: And Ask This Old House is brought to you by Angie's List. Get reviews you can trust, on Angie's List.
Coming up next, did you know you might have a choice in terms of which company provides the energy for your home? We'll explain how to take advantage of that option and save some money, after this.
ANNOUNCER: It's a battle we all fight: cost versus comfort. But now you can end the struggle. With Mitsubishi Electric Cooling & Heating systems, you'll enjoy ultimate comfort while dramatically reducing energy costs. Mitsubishi's eco-comfort technology gives you single-room control so you don't have to pay to cool or heat areas you aren't using. These units also filter allergens. And there's no ductwork, so a contractor can install them in less than a day. End your battles with high energy costs, at MitsubishiComfort.com. Mitsubishi Electric Cooling & Heating, live better.
ANNOUNCER: As an Orkin man, I know how to bait for ants. Based on your home, I might use liquids or gels or granules. I know to bait with protein in the spring and sugar in the fall. I can find them when they're outside in the ground and when they've decided to move in and nest in the walls. Every colony has a queen but I know every queen can be dethroned. Orkin, pest control down to a science. Visit OrkinMan.com to get guaranteed pest control.
ANNOUNCER: Getting ready to stain your deck, fence or other outdoor wood? Make your staining project faster and easier with Flood Wood Care products. At Flood.com/Simplify, there's an interactive selection guide to help you find the right Flood Wood Care products for your project. Plus, you can watch straightforward how-to videos that will show you how to apply Flood Wood Care products and print a supply checklist to take with you to the store. Get started today, at Flood.com/Simplify. Flood, simple across the board.
ANNOUNCER: For more than a century, the same question has been asked: "Who left the lights on? Who? You?" It has been shouted by aggravated parents since the invention of the light bulb. But with the Lutron Maestro Occupancy-Sensing Switch, which turns on the lights when you enter a room and off when you leave, this question will never be asked again. Learn more at LutronSensors.com. Save more, shout less. Available from your local home center, lighting showroom or electrical professional.
ANNOUNCER: DeWALT heavy-duty ratchets outperform the competition with three times the life of standard ratchets. Available in ¼-inch, 3/8-inch and ½-inch drives, the DeWALT heavy-duty ratchets feature a 72-tooth gear system. Their slim design, anti-slip handle grooves and a low-profile directional lever allow for maximum control and maneuverability in the tightest of spaces. Backed by a full lifetime warranty, DeWALT mechanics tools are available at Sears. For more information, visit DeWALT.com.
ANNOUNCER: For contractors and do-it-yourselfers alike, Sakrete has a full line of premium concrete, mortar and stucco mixes, along with maintenance and repair products for concrete and asphalt. Sakrete has over 75 years of expertise helping people with their concrete projects. Whether you're laying a new concrete slab, repairing cracked concrete or resurfacing concrete, Sakrete has the products to help you get the job done quicker and easier. Visit Sakrete.com to watch our how-to videos and for easy-to-use project-material calculators. When tackling any project type, trust Sakrete, the pro's choice since 1936.
(theme song)
ANNOUNCER: The Money Pit is brought to you by DeWALT. DeWALT's new rugged and innovative line of mechanics tools are so tough, DeWALT is proud to back them with a full lifetime warranty. When there's a tough job to get done, rely on a trusted name. Rely on DeWALT. Available at Sears. For more information, visit DeWALT.com.
TOM: Making good homes better, welcome back to The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show where home solutions live. I'm Tom Kraeutler.
LESLIE: And I'm Leslie Segrete.
TOM: Taking your calls at 888-MONEY-PIT. One caller who gets on the air with us this hour is going to win a Professional Convection Oven by Frigidaire. It's got a sleek, stainless-steel design, requires no pre-heat time at all and it's big enough that you can cook a 12-slice pizza or toast 6 slices of bread.
Worth $150 and is available at Target through the end of June. But you can see it online at Frigidaire.com or pick up the phone and call us at 888-MONEY-PIT for your chance to win.
Well, many of us spend a large percentage of our household budgets on our energy bill. But did you know that in many parts of the country, you may have the power to choose the utility company that supplies the energy that powers your home? And that's a very good thing because any time there's competition for your business, it leads to savings and even more eco-friendly options.
LESLIE: That's right. You know, it used to be that a single utility company made or acquired the energy, whether it was natural gas or electric, and then they sold that energy to you. But deregulation means that your local utility company might just deliver that energy, and you can actually shop around for the best price from another company to purchase that natural gas or electric.
Now, there's a few things to keep in mind and we learned about them from Michael Meath from the American Coalition of Competitive Energy Suppliers.
MICHAEL: What's the term for? In other words, how long are you making a purchase decision? Is it for a month at a time? Is it over a season? Is it over a year? Is it over multiple years? That's number one.
Number two, is there anything at all different about the commodity and what might come with the commodity? Is there another service that comes with it? Is there anything else that differentiates it? Get that in very plain English from that supplier.
Number three, understand what you can do to get out of the deal. Can you just walk away at any time?
LESLIE: Also, consider the billing method, the source of the electric or gas and if there'll be any lag time once you make that switch.
TOM: For more information and some great questions to ask yourself before shopping around, visit CompetitiveEnergy.org.
LESLIE: Tony in Iowa is having a hot-and-cold water situation. What's going on?
TONY: Well, I've got an electric water heater. And the main feed that comes in from the city, that goes into my electric water heater, it's a cold line. But yeah, I get cold water to come out of my faucets and everything but that cold water line, up around through the water heater there, it's hot, the line, when I touch it. And I'm just curious what's going on with that.
TOM: So, you have an electric water heater and that's going to be fed by a cold-water line and it's going to go through the water heater and come out as a hot-water line.
TONY: That's correct.
TOM: OK. And so what's the problem? So far, it's normal.
TONY: The water line that goes into the water heater – the cold water?
TOM: Yes. Yep.
TONY: That line is hot.
TOM: Well, some of the heat from the water heater can be working its way back up the pipe. So you may be feeling some conductive heat that comes from – the hot water in the water heater itself could be making that pipe warm. But if you go farther down the line, you're going to feel that it's cold again.
It goes in cold and comes out hot but the fitting right around the top might feel like it's a bit warm. But that's only because of the conductive heat of the water in the water heater coming back up the metal pipe.
TONY: OK. That alleviates my concerns then.
TOM: This is The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show. Up next, adding wood floors is totally a do-it-yourself project, even when it comes to complicated, upscale patterns. We've got tips, after this.
(theme song)
ANNOUNCER: The Money Pit is brought to you by Lutron's new Maestro Occupancy-Sensing Switch. Never ask "Who left the lights on?" again. Starting at around $20, this motion-sensing light switch turns the lights on automatically when you walk into a room and off when you leave and works with all types of light bulbs. Learn more at LutronSensors.com.
TOM: Where home solutions live, this is The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show. I'm Tom Kraeutler.
LESLIE: And I'm Leslie Segrete.
Well, if you've ever had one, you know it is just a terrible situation when you find yourself with a wet basement. And a wet basement really is a sure way to keep potential buyers from making you an offer on your home. If you want some tips on how you can waterproof your basement, head on over to MoneyPit.com and search "basement waterproofing tips." And you'll learn the right way, and some wrong ways, to keep the water away.
TOM: And while you are at MoneyPit.com, you can post your home improvement question in our Community section or really any time at The Money Pit's Facebook page at Facebook.com/TheMoneyPit.
And Betty in South Carolina has a flooring question and she says, "I really love herringbone wood floors. Is that design something that has to be created by cutting special angles on the wood? I've looked and looked and have never seen planks precut, especially for herringbone patterns. Can I, in fact, do it myself?"
LESLIE: It's a very specific type of layout – a herringbone floor – which, of course, will require many special angles cut specifically to your space.
Now, a pro in the olden days could do this and make it really gorgeous. There are kits available but even with the kits, you've got to keep in mind that no room today is built perfectly square. There's going to be a lot of adjustments that need to be done, sort of on the fly, during the install. Angles may need to be recut.
I don't know if this is an ideal do-it-yourself project for your first-time flooring project to jump into. And I'm not sure what your experience is with power tools and miter boxes and compound miter saws that you might need to create this. It's definitely a beautiful installation but there are some kits available on the market. Do a Google search; you'll find some out there. I think it's going to end up being a little bit more complicated that you thought, so it might be best to either hire a pro or look at some other ideas.
TOM: You can also get kits for parquet floors. But something you said about the floors not being square, that's probably the most common misconception about any house. You always start by thinking, "Well, the wall is square, the floor is square." It is never, ever square. You create your own squareness by kind of figuring out where to start – in the middle of a floor, generally – never starting on one wall and working across because it never lines up on the other side.
LESLIE: No. And that'll be so obvious with a pattern like that.
TOM: Yeah. And the most common sort of rookie mistake is you start on one side with a full piece and by the time you get to the other side, you didn't lay it out right. You end up with these tiny slivers that just never go well, so – and one end of the room is like 4 inches and the other end, the cut is 2 inches and it's angled. It's a mess.
So, you really can create your own squareness by starting in the middle with a line that's equidistant between the two walls that you're trying to join.
Alright. Another question here. Let's try to get this one in from Julian in California who says, "Do you know how I can get an old ink stain out of a sisal rug?"
I'd say if it's an old ink stain, it's going to be very, very difficult. But I would try WD-40. It is, in fact, one of the 1,001 uses for WD-40. That fluid will break down the ink. Now, you might just want to try it, especially if it's a dyed rug, somewhere to see if it also takes out the coloring. But if it's just sort of a plain, natural rug, I'd give it a shot if it really bothers you. It might actually work. Do it outside and rinse it thoroughly after you're done and you might just clean that right up.
LESLIE: Yeah. You know, Julian, I was going to say, with a sisal rug, if this is an area rug and not a wall-to-wall sisal or it's manageable, get it outside. And once you do clean it with the WD-40, you do want to give it a good rinsing because that sisal is so porous. I mean it's essentially just like a jute rope. So you want to make sure that you get that out; otherwise, it's going to be stinky and greasy for a while.
TOM: This is The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show. Thank you so much for spending this hour with us. We hope you've learned a few things to help keep you busy and maybe a little out of trouble for the summer week coming up.
If you've got questions – maybe you took on a project that's a little too tough, you need a rescue – well, head on over to The Money Pit website at MoneyPit.com, post that question in the Community section or on our Facebook page and we will get you the help that you need.
I'm Tom Kraeutler.
LESLIE: And I'm Leslie Segrete.
TOM: Remember, you can do it yourself …
LESLIE: But you don't have to do it alone.


text:
Southwestern Gray Wolf Management Plan FAQ
- I heard about the Southwestern Gray Wolf Management Plan; what does this mean for Texas, and what is TPWD's role?
- The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released its draft federal Southwestern Gray Wolf Management Plan for review and comment on Dec. 17, 2012. This plan does not outline reintroduction or release of Mexican gray wolf (Canis lupus baileyi), but rather provides management guidance related to existing populations.
- Are gray wolves being released or reintroduced in Texas?
- There have not been any wolves released or reintroduced in Texas, and there are no plans to reintroduce wolves in Texas. State law prohibits the release of wolves in Texas.
- What does the plan propose to do?
- Among other things, the plan provides for ways to relocate or otherwise manage wolves that may naturally disperse or wander into Texas from neighboring areas where wolves have been released, including New Mexico and Mexico.
- Should ranchers or other landowners be concerned about gray wolves coming to Texas?
- At this time, we have no reason to believe that wolves may recolonize Texas from neighboring states or countries in the near future.
- If gray wolves do stray into to Texas, what can landowners do?
- The draft plan outlines options for dealing with nuisance wolves that might naturally disperse into Texas. TPWD is currently reviewing the draft plan to determine if it provides acceptable management alternatives in the unlikely event that
wolves naturally disperse into the state.
In the unlikely scenario that wolves stray into Texas, the draft federal plan calls for people to immediately communicate any report of possible wolf depredation on domestic livestock or pets to the Mexican Wolf Reintroduction Project Interagency Field Team field office in Arizona at (928) 339-4329. - Who can I contact for more information?
- Landowners or others with general questions can contact the Mexican Gray Wolf Recovery Program Coordinator at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service southwest regional office in Albuquerque
at (505) 761-4748.
Texas landowners or others who wish to contact TPWD may contact the Wildlife Division regional office in Alpine, Texas, (432) 837-2051.


text:
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — German automaker Volkswagen AG says net profit fell 50 percent in the second quarter compared to the previous year, when earnings were boosted by a one-time accounting plus related to its takeover of Porsche.
Excluding the Porsche effect, the company's operating earnings rose 1.8 percent in what it called "a difficult market environment," beating analyst estimates and indicating the company was holding its own in a difficult European auto market. It said it would still achieve its earnings goal for the year.
Net profit fell to 2.85 billion euros ($3.76 billion) from 5.70 billion in the same quarter a year ago. Revenue rose 8.5 percent to 52.1 billion euros.
Operating earnings, excluding Porsche as well as financial items such as interest and taxes, rose to 3.44 billion euros. That beat analyst estimates for 3.07 billion euros, as compiled by financial information provider FactSet. Profit margin slipped moderately to 6.6 percent from 7.0 percent.
The results showed how Volkswagen is continuing to maintain profits despite a tough environment at home in Europe and Germany, where car sales have been shrinking. It is sustained in part by luxury businesses such as Porsche and its Audi division, where unit sales are smaller but the company earns much more per vehicle, and by its business in emerging markets such as China.
CEO Martin Winterkorn said Wednesday the company had "achieved a solid result in a difficult market environment." The company said that full-year operating earnings, which exclude financial items such as interest and taxes, would at least equal last year's.
The company had enjoyed a large boost in the second quarter of 2012 thanks to the recalculation of stock options related to its takeover of high-end sports car maker Porsche, which is now one of VW's 12 brands. The company also makes cars under the Skoda and SEAT nameplates.


text:
Erica Hill was named co-anchor of Weekend TODAY and NBC News national correspondent in October 2012. Hill will co-anchor both Saturday and Sunday editions of Weekend TODAY alongside Lester Holt.
Prior to joining NBC News, Hill served as co-host of CBS News' "CBS This Morning" in 2012 and "The Early Show" in 2011. She was news anchor of "The Early Show" in 2010, while also co-hosting "The Early Show Saturday" from 2008 to 2010. Hill joined "The Early Show Saturday" while working at CNN, where she served as anchor and correspondent for CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360" from 2008 to 2010.
During her time at CBS News and CNN, Hill covered a wide range of domestic and international stories, including the shooting of former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson, Arizona; the death of Osama Bin Laden; the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti; the growing refugee crisis in Dadaab, Kenya; and the famine in East Africa. Hill has interviewed numerous newsmakers and world leaders including President Obama, former President Clinton, and British Prime Minister David Cameron.
Hill spent seven years at CNN, joining the network at its Atlanta headquarters in 2003. She served in various roles at CNN and HLN, anchoring breaking news coverage and reporting on major events including the 2004 and 2008 presidential campaigns, the war in Iraq, the Mumbai terror attacks, and Hurricane Katrina. From 2006 to 2008, Hill was the anchor of HLN's "Prime News with Erica Hill", a live two-hour news and interview program. She co-anchored "Prime News Tonight" from 2005 to 2006, and served as national correspondent for CNN Newsource in Washington in 2004.
From 2001 to 2003, Hill was as co-anchor and correspondent for TechTV's daily news program, "Tech Live", where she anchored live coverage of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and co-produced and anchored a number of specials for the network, including the debate surrounding embryonic stem cell research. She joined the network in 1998 when it was known as ZDTV, and helped launch its online radio operations, ZDTV Radio. Hill began her journalism career at PC Week where she wrote, produced and edited interviews, newscasts, and streaming events for the magazine's online news radio station, "PC Week Radio".
Hill graduated summa cum laude from Boston University with a bachelor's degree in journalism. She lives in New York with her husband and two sons.
Follow Erica on Twitter.
Updated June 4, 2013. Originally posted Nov. 2, 2012.


text:
The Honorable Barack Obama
The White House
Washington, DC 20500Dear Mr. President:
I am writing today to urge your Administration to take overdue but necessary action to confront soaring gasoline prices. In the last three years, gas prices have doubled, draining the disposable income of millions of hardworking Americans. In 2011, the typical U.S. household already spent $4,155 on gasoline, almost 10 percent of their income. Yet some analysts now predict prices may rise this year to more than $5.00 per gallon.
In a speech this Thursday, you stated that "there are no quick fixes to this problem. You know we can't just drill our way to lower gas prices." While we should explore a variety of energy resources—most especially those which do not put taxpayer dollars at risk—I respectfully disagree that we cannot utilize our remarkably vast untapped energy reserves to provide Americans with much-needed relief. I reject the defeatist view that says the nation that won two world wars, pioneered space travel, and overcame the Soviet Empire is now helpless in the face of high prices at the pump. We are not at the mercy of dictators, cartels, and events beyond our control.
Simply by removing the bureaucratic barriers imposed by your own administration we can begin to make progress. But we can go much further than that. Powerful action to harness America's untapped oil and gas resources would place downward pressure on prices and speculation in the short-run and, by surging global supply, would serve to keep prices low in the future. Crucially, it would also provide millions of Americans with good-paying private-sector jobs; produce substantial royalties for local, state, and federal governments; reduce our enormous trade imbalance; and put an end to our huge wealth transfer from America to competitors oversees.
I therefore recommend the following proposals for immediate implementation:
1. Restore the bipartisan 2010–2015 offshore lease plan to ensure that the 31 lease sales called for in that plan are completed expeditiously. Your Administration only directed one lease sale in 2011 and has announced just one lease sale for 2012, far short of the number of sales that would have occurred over this period under the original 2010–2015 plan that your Administration discarded.
2. Take all necessary steps to accelerate the leasing and permitting process for domestic shale oil production. The United States has recoverable shale oil reserves estimated at 800 billion to 1.2 trillion barrels, meaning our nation has potentially three to four times more recoverable oil than any other country in the world except Canada.
3. Maximize energy production from federal lands. As I and 21 other Senators noted in a January 25, 2012 letter to you, actual oil production on federal lands is now just 714 million barrels per year, a 16 percent decline from what was projected just five years ago. This decline must be reversed.
4. End the de facto moratorium on permitting for offshore oil and gas production.
5. Direct the EPA, the Department of Energy, and other federal agencies to grant all necessary waivers and approvals to oil and gas refineries to facilitate maximum production at minimum cost. Refinery expenses comprise 11 percent of the price for gasoline that Americans pay at the pump, but your Administration has imposed numerous regulations that have driven refining costs up, not down.
6. Abandon your proposal to increase taxes and fees levied on U.S. energy production by more than $40 billion. These additional costs would be passed along to consumers, taking money out of their pockets and discouraging needed domestic production.
7. Approve the Keystone XL pipeline and grant necessary waivers, licenses, and permits, where possible, to ensure expedited completion of this important North American energy project. The pipeline would carry 700,000 barrels a day to U.S. refineries, which is nearly half what the U.S. currently imports from the entire Middle East.
America has the potential to fundamentally shift the balance of power in global energy production—to produce more energy, more efficiently and more cheaply, than your Administration has recognized. Such bold steps will broadcast an unmistakable signal to the world that not only places downward pressure on prices in the near-term but helps deliver a future of abundant, affordable energy. Moreover, unlike costly short-term stimulus, achieving energy independence would provide long-term relief to both struggling families and our indebted treasury.
I look forward to working with you on this important matter.
Very truly yours,
Jeff Sessions
U.S. Senator


text:
Pathways Therapy Services LLC
We are a mobile outpatient service. We provide one on one expert care in the comfort of your home. We bring the gym and all needed supplies to you.
Pathways Therapy Services is a mobile outpatient service serving patients throughout Central Florida providing specialized lymphedema therapy, occupational therapy, and vestibular rehabilitation services. We bring the gym and all needed supplies to you in the comfort of your home. We create individualized care plans in collaboration with you and your caregivers. We also provide post-op lymphatic drainage for liposuction, BBL, tummy tuck, and more. Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties are covered. Our therapists are experts in lymphedema treatment, dizziness, orthopedic injuries, CVA, TBI, edema and pain management, AE instructions, home modifications, compression garment measurements and fittings, education, and AE instruction.
St. Cloud or Saint Cloud is a city in northern Osceola County, Florida, United States. It is on the southern shore of East Lake Tohopekaliga in Central Florida, about 26 miles (41.8 km) southeast of Orlando. The population was 35,183 in the 2010 census, and 54,579 in the 2019 census estimate. The city is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford metropolitan area.
Ashton, Hanover lakes, Holopaw, Live Oak Lake by Pulte - Sold Out, Neighborhood Cleaners, Oaktree Pointe, Southern Pines - Taylor Morrison, St Cloud


text:
The last time The New York Times embarked on a wholesale redesign of its Web site, in 2006, the iPhone wasn't on the market. Tablets like the iPad were still years away.
So the new design that The Times is unveiling Wednesday is generating much interest within the journalism industry, both for what it says about The Times and about the future of online publishing.
For visitors to NYTimes.com, it will be obvious "that we've redesigned our article pages and restyled our homepage and section fronts to provide a cleaner, more engaging user experience," said Denise Warren, the executive vice president of the digital products and services group at The Times.
What won't be obvious is this: behind the curtain, there is a whole new publishing and technology system. "This allows us to continually iterate on the site and take advantage of new technology trends as they happen, so instead of seeing major redesigns in the future, users will see more incremental changes over time," Warren said.
While the refreshed home page and article pages retain some of the feel of the print newspaper, the redesign highlights the fact that, as the well-respected news media analyst Ken Doctor put it, "digital publishing is getting to be the main publishing system of the Times, with print becoming a niche, if still a very big one."
Redesigns of Web sites as massive as NYTimes.com are fraught with complexity, not to mention the possibility that readers will be turned off by the changes. The Times, the flagship brand of The New York Times Company (NYT), has been testing the new design internally for some time and adjusting it along the way.
A disclosure is important here: I was a media reporter at The Times for six years. While there, I occasionally engaged in a time-honored reporter ritual -- complaining -- in this case about the limitations of The Times' online publishing tools. But I also gained respect for the people in charge of those tools. I departed The Times in November 2013, and for this story, I refrained from speaking with any former colleagues about the redesign outside of formal interviews.
Many outside The Times see it as a Cadillac of print and online publishing — so it's not surprising that the redesign has already generated press attention. Fast Company magazine said this week that the newspaper has "eight years of catching up to do."
The new site is designed with mobile readership in mind, now that roughly a third of its traffic comes from users on smart phones and tablets. "It was important that we created a responsive layout that enhances the presentation of our content on larger desktops down to tablets," Warren said.
Doctor said that "the flip side is that two-thirds of all the traffic still comes from desktops and laptops. So while the mobile news revolution is hugely important, the Web still brings most of the digital readers and most of the digital advertising."
The new system also allows for new kinds of advertising, which is critical for The Times because digital advertising revenues have been trending downward. In the third quarter of last year, the revenues were down 3.4% versus the same quarter the prior year.
Most notably, the redesign introduces fast-growing "native advertising" to NYTimes.com. The Times is calling these ads Paid Posts. They resemble articles written by reporters — thus they are "native" — but they are actually written by sponsors. Dell is the first purchaser of Paid Posts, and on Wednesday, there were several such posts on the Web site.
The Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger, Jr. acknowledged in a memorandum last month that ads that appear to be articles "can be controversial" among journalists, but said he expected that "native advertising will play a part in helping restore digital advertising revenue to growth -- something we need to do to support our investment in the journalism of The New York Times."
The Paid Posts are surrounded by a blue border to distinguish them from regular articles; are prefaced with a disclaimer that they are "paid for and posted by" outside companies; and are formatted in a different font.
There are other kinds of new ads on NYTimes.com too, including something called a "Ribbon unit" that will show up within the new top-of-the-page navigation bar. (Dell's Paid Posts appeared there on Wednesday.)
"The design also creates more white space, which makes advertising units more prominent now than they have been in the past," Warren said.
Even as it tries to improve its digital advertising picture, The Times is increasingly dependent on subscribers for revenue; at last count it had upwards of 700,000 digital subscribers. The company's hope is that a richer Web site will keep those subscribers happy and woo new ones.
"The more readers engage -- finding an intriguing movie profile when they came to the site to follow the latest news from Afghanistan -- the more likely they are to renew their subscriptions and accept annual price increases," Doctor said.
He also noted that one "small but noticeable change" will be faster-loading Web pages on NYTimes.com. "Of course, the more of them, the more page views and that reinforcement of engagement," he said.